Treehouse
by Satori
Summary: A bit of fluff where Riku races Sora and claims his prize Review, please.
1. Race

** Author's Note:** Hey all! My first Kingdom Hearts fic...dedicated to Sarah (god knows which one No I think she knows.) because...well she made me. So tell me what you think?  
  
**Disclaimer:** Obviously, I do not own Sora or Riku or any of the other KH characters, they belong to Squenix (and Disney?). So yeah. Don't sue me, I'm not making any money off of this—still as poor as ever. Hasta la vista!

* * *

Sora closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back against the tree branch that supported his weight, high up in the tree. He dropped his hammer onto the platform he was nailing into the tree trunk and wiped the sweat from his blue eyes. The time read 12:15 on his watch; Riku should be back soon with food. Thinking about Riku made Sora's stomach knot up, so he brushed thoughts of food and Riku aside and picked up his hammer again. He'd decided to finish the tree house by the end of the week, so they would have another week of summer to enjoy it. So far that day, he'd managed to get most of the floor up; the walls and roof were already in place. Sora realized he'd be finished ahead of the deadline and grinned. Of course, that was mostly Riku's doing, since the silver-haired boy was a much faster worker than he was...and there he went off again, thinking about Riku.  
  
Sora shook his head, clearing it of thoughts that were definitely not conducive to work. The sun was moving across the horizon at an alarmingly quick rate—when had it gotten all the way over there?! Sora squinted, growled, and hurriedly applied himself to his work. He had been working diligently for about fifteen minutes before Riku reappeared, carrying what appeared to be a picnic basket. Grinning, Sora swung down from his branch and met the other boy at the base of the tree.  
  
"You brought us a picnic, Riku?"  
  
Riku smiled quietly. "My mom wouldn't let me out of the house without overloading me."  
  
Sora nodded. "That's okay. We'll just keep some up here."  
  
"It'll spoil." Riku told him blatantly.  
  
Sora looked down and nodded, disappointed and a little hurt at the way Riku had said it. Had he said something stupid? "Yeah...yeah you're probably right..."  
  
The other boy sighed, making Sora glance up again. Was that a flash of worry in Riku's eyes, or something else? Sora blushed and looked down again, forcing himself under control. _Don't be stupid, Sora. What do you know?_  
  
"No, we'll leave some here. I'll build an ice box or something." The taller boy finally relented, reaching a hand to ruffle Sora's hair.  
  
Sora grinned. "Race you up the tree!"  
  
Riku smirked. "I'll win—"  
  
"Ready? Go!" Sora yelled and scampered up the tree, grabbing for tree branches as they appeared in his field of vision. One particularly vicious twig whipped at his face, and Sora felt a dripping warmth on his cheek. In the excitement of the race, it dimly registered that he was bleeding, but Sora ignored it; it didn't hurt. He reached the platform a little after Riku, who sat back and smiled at him.  
  
"Told you I'd win."  
  
"Oh shut it." Sora sat down in a huff, which was quickly forgotten as Riku suddenly moved, quick as a cat, to kneel next to him, a frown on his face.  
  
"You hurt yourself."  
  
"What?" Sora felt Riku's finger brush his cheek lightly and remembered the cut. "Oh! No, it's just a little cut. It doesn't hurt. Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Sora realized he was rambling, but it was a little hard to concentrate on what he was saying with Riku's fingers on his face and Riku's warm breath on his cheeks. Sora's eyes fluttered shut. "Riku..."  
  
The emptiness and cold after the warmth of Riku's hand when he withdrew it was almost painful. The brown-haired boy's eyes snapped open to see Riku watching him with a peculiar look on his face. He could almost see the puzzle pieces fitting together behind Riku's teal eyes. The silver-haired boy leaned forward again, bringing his face perilously close to Sora's. Sora felt his breath hitch at the tiny fraction of space between them.  
  
When Riku spoke, his voice was soft, caressing. "I beat you Sora."  
  
Sora could only nod, staring at Riku's moving lips, wondering...but no.  
  
"What's my prize?"  
  
Sora blinked. "Your...your what?"  
  
"Prize, Sora. What'll you give me for winning?" Riku was so close, too close. Yet not. Sora didn't want him to move. Ever. Unless it was to move closer. He blushed.  
  
Sora knew what he _wanted _to do, but he wasn't sure he could. Finally, he took a deep breath and closed the gap between them, bringing his lips to Riku's. From the way the other boy reacted and responded quickly, Sora knew this was what he'd been expecting.  
  
Sora was the first to pull back, and he had a moment to watch Riku with his eyes closed. The brown-haired boy stared, and realized for the first time that Riku really was...beautiful. Perfectly formed, even features. Long silver lashes and long silver hair that fell to his shoulders. Full, very kissable lips that smiled as easily as they smirked. And beautiful, open aqua blue eyes...wait a moment. With a jolt, Sora realized that Riku's eyes were open and he was looking at him with one eyebrow raised. The blue-eyed boy blushed and dropped his eyes, staring at his hands, which were clenched in his lap.  
  
Very gently, more so than Sora had ever seen Riku be, the silver-haired boy lifted Sora's chin. "Look at me, Sora."  
  
Sora did.  
  
Riku was smiling. "You seem to have read my mind."  
  
Sora couldn't help but grin. "I hope that was a good prize."  
  
"Maybe I should race you more often. Up taller trees, for bigger prizes." Riku cocked an eyebrow again and Sora laughed.  
  
"Next time, I'll win. And we'll see what happens then, eh?"  
  
Riku looked surprised at Sora's boldness—Sora was rather shocked, himself—but recovered quickly and looked like he liked the change. "We'll see."  
  
Then, quickly, before Sora had a chance to blink, Riku had pulled him forward and was kissing him again. Their lips met with an almost audible _sigh _of emotion; starbursts danced in Sora's vision. They were rather pretty starbursts. It was different this time, no longer tentative and awkward, but forceful, full of meaning and feeling. Sora decided that if it got better like this each time, they might have to practice more.  
  
He told Riku so, and Riku laughed, long and loud. And then, they did just that. 


	2. Swimming

**Author's Note:** Hey all! Finally, a continuation! Sorry, but this one isn't as bad as Katsuro wanted it to be. Hehe. Well I hope you enjoy it anyways.

**Disclaimer:** [insert standard disclaimer here]. Yes, it all holds true still.

* * *

It had been a little over a week since the racing 'incident'. Sora had noticed a silent tension between himself and Riku, but had been unable to do anything about it since that day. Luckily for both of them, probably, Kairi had been occupied at home and hadn't spent much time with them, else she might have noticed that something was wrong. Which would have been bad, since she would have started asking uncomfortable questions. As it was, the two of them hardly spent any time together at all, and when they did, the silences were filled with sideways glances and attempted conversations.  
  
Today was the first time since the incident Sora hoped might lessen the awkwardness that had sprung up between them. Riku owed him a race, and Sora intended to make it end quite like the previous one.  
  
"Stop day-dreaming, Sora! We've got a race to run!" Riku had come up behind the other boy while he'd been thinking, and he jumped.  
  
"Hey Riku. Ready to race?"  
  
"Hell yes." Riku grinned. "Only this time, I had a slightly different idea."  
  
"Yeah?" Sora looked up at him, curious. Riku had that slightly predatory smile on his face again...  
  
"I'll race you around the island...only we're swimming." So saying, Riku removed his shoes, pulled his shirt off and waded into the shallows, dipping his hand in the water to test the temperature.  
  
"Guh..." Sora told him intelligently. When Riku turned back to see what was taking him so long, he hurried to get out of his clothes, ending up shivering in his boxers.  
  
"Okay, let's get this over with." Riku was looking at him a little funny. Self-consciously, he waded into the water waist-deep and turned to Riku. "Come on!"  
  
They bent over, preparing to swim. "Ready...set...GO!" Like a shot, they two boys dove into the water and swam for all they were worth.  
  
Sora didn't surface for a long while, swimming as fast as he could. When he did come up for air, Riku was already far ahead of him and pulling further and further away as he watched. With a quietly uttered curse, Sora dove under again, pushing himself until he thought his lungs might burst. Riku was still ahead, but the gap was closing slowly. The silver-haired boy didn't look over his shoulder once, but Sora had a feeling that Riku knew exactly where Sora was behind him.  
  
They were half-way around the island before Sora started feeling the burning in his muscles. Thanks to all his previous runs around the island with Riku, he was strong enough to go for quite a while without tiring. Swimming around the island, however, was going to be painful. Biting his lip to help himself concentrate, the boy ducked his head underwater and pumped his arms again, propelling himself forward.  
  
Sora finally saw the familiar starting shore to his left and turned toward it sharply. The feeling of solid sand under his feet was a wonderful respite from the salty water he'd treaded for what felt like forever. As soon as Sora reached a shallow enough part, he collapsed to his hands and knees, breathing hard. He didn't bother to look up; he knew Riku was already there, sitting with his feet in the water.  
  
When he finally caught his breath, Sora looked up to find Riku looking at him, not three feet away. He was grinning triumphantly.  
  
"I beat you."  
  
Sora couldn't help but grin back. "I know."  
  
The silver-haired boy leaned forward, hair falling in his eyes. "What's my prize this time?"  
  
Sora didn't really have an answer. So, blushing slightly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Riku's. Please don't let last time have been a fluke, was the last thought he managed before Riku grabbed him and hauled him closer, never breaking contact with his lips. Sora gasped appreciatively and seized a fistful of soft silver hair, pressing himself against Riku's chest. With a sudden deft movement, Riku flipped Sora over, pushing his back into the sand.  
  
Sora grinned up at him through half-lidded eyes. "We're gonna get all sandy." He murmured, twisting a lock of Riku's hair through his fingers.  
  
"Shut up, Sora." Further silencing him with a kiss, Riku slowly licked his way across Sora's jaw and down his neck, pausing at the hollow in the slighter boy's throat, tasting the racing pulse buried just below the fragile surface. Sora made a curious noise at the back of his throat, clearly urging Riku to keep moving downward. With a smile, Riku complied.  
  
Sora gasped again as fiery kisses trailed their way down his chest, outlining his ribs, and circling the hollow of his stomach. Tingling nerves where Riku had kissed him left behind shadows of the preceding sensation. Sora felt each touch like a bolt of lightning against his skin, heightened senses giving the caresses more power over his perception.  
  
Riku looked up at Sora, careful not to falter in his exploration, and couldn't help but pause to stare. The younger boy's normally grinning face was suffused with bliss, blue eyes shut and lips slightly parted. Riku decided he liked Sora best this way, rather powerless. At that moment, Sora finally noticed that the kisses were no longer being placed on his chest and his eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Ri...ku?" He inquired, azure eyes questioning.  
  
Riku smiled and slid himself upward so he was face to face with Sora. "Nothing, don't worry about it."  
  
Sora looked at him trustingly—"Okay"—and tilted his head up to intercept a kiss.  
  
"Riku?? Sora?!"  
  
Two boys shot apart, eyes wide. "Shit." Riku muttered, standing up and holding out a hand to help Sora up. They brushed each other off hastily, laughing breathlessly at almost being caught by Kairi, who came into view just as they finished sweeping sand off each other's backs and arms.  
  
She waved and ran over, smiling. "Hey you two! What've you been doing without me?"  
  
Sora and Riku exchanged a glance and burst out laughing again. "We were...just...racing..." Sora managed between gales of laughter.  
  
Kairi shook her head at them. "I don't know what I'm going to do with the two of you! Always racing each other."  
  
Riku straightened finally and glanced at Sora from the corner of his eye. "You're absolutely right. Always racing. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't see us for a few days because we were so busy racing each other."  
  
At this, Sora couldn't help but burst into more laughter while Kairi looked on in confusion. "O...kay then. Well I'm supposed to bring you back home, it's getting late." So saying, the girl turned and ran back the way she'd come, obviously expecting the two boys to follow her.  
  
Riku checked to make sure she wasn't looking back, then leaned down and kissed Sora briefly. "We'll have to finish this with another race." With a grin, he turned and followed Kairi up the beach.  
  
Sora laughed and gathered his discarded clothing. "Hey Riku! Wait up!"  
  
Riku's laugh echoed across the expanse of sand. "Race you!"


End file.
